The Right to Privacy in Philippine Jurisprudence

This article explores the right to privacy in Philippines jurisprudence, surveying relevant laws and judicial decisions. It pays particular attention to three decisions of the Philippine Supreme Court. The first is the case of White Light v City of Manila, where the Court erroneously considered the right to the pursuit of happiness as a right to privacy. The next is People v Cogaed, a search and seizure case, where the Court mischaracterised the nature of the privacy violated as a right to autonomy. Finally, there is Morfe v Mutuc, in which no mistake was committed by the Court but a superficial reading of the case might lead one to conclude that one had been committed with respect to the standard of review applicable to cases involving the right to privacy.

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Fernando, Emmanuel, The Right to Privacy in Philippine Jurisprudence (August 30, 2018). Australian Journal of Asian Law, 2018, Vol 19 No 1, Article 4: 67-84, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3241072

Emmanuel Fernando (Contact Author)

University of the Philippines, Department of Philosophy and College of Law ( email )

Malcom Hall
University of the Philippines, Diliman
Quezon City
Philippines